It was time to return to the mainland after a great stay at the Four Seasons. We decided to fly United's business class from Kona to Chicago. Even though the flight ended up with United's old business class seats, it was still better than my last United flight from Hawaii to Chicago. We had a commitment in Boston so we had to travel there first. Premium options out of Kona were very limited. I set a price alert for Kona to Boston and received an alert for an option that seemed quite good compared to the alternatives. A Boeing plane flies from Kona to Chicago. This is the only flat bed option that you can get out of Kona, and it is also a long enough flight that you can get some sleep. We paid about $1,200 one-way per person for the ticket. We had vouchers from a United itinerary we canceled in late 2021, so at least our out of pocket wasn't quite that high. The first flight will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 with the new Polaris seats, and the second flight will be operated by a Boeing 737 MAX 9. Kona to Chicago is departing at 5:55PM and arriving at 6AM. Chicago to Boston is departing at 10:30AM.
BEN SAYS:
While a last minute aircraft swap resulted in us getting United's old business class seats, everything else about this flight was solid, including the service and food. Furthermore, United is the only airline offering flat beds out of Kona at the moment.
How I booked our United Airlines business class tickets
The aircraft for the Kona to Chicago flight was swapped the morning of our flight. It was supposed to be a Boeing 787-9 with United's old business class seats, but instead it was a Boeing 787-9 with Polaris seats.
We were happy to just have a business class flight in a flat bed.
We arrived at Kona Airport early for our flight. We arrived early because we had a rental car and we didn't want to pay for an extra day.
The check-in counter was empty. An agent helped us. She mentioned she works at the Four Seasons after seeing our luggage tags. Oh, Hah. The check-in area at the airport is open-air, and I found it to be charming.
The Pre-Check line had more people in it than the standard security line, and it was a short walk away. We stayed in that line and it moved quickly.
We had about two hours to kill before our flight left, which is more time than you want to spend at Kona Airport. It's cute for an airport to have an outdoor space, especially in the coronaviruses era. It's great to be able to go outside at an airport.
Kona Airport has almost no indoor space.
If you are departing Kona Airport, I would recommend arriving as close to departure as possible. This is the least favorite airport I have visited in Hawaii. Maybe I was unlucky.
50 minutes before departure, boarding was scheduled. The view of the plane from the gate was pretty cool.
I find United's boarding process to be too complex. The number of different groups that they call prior to boarding first and business class almost reminds me of SNL.
You can board via air stairs at Kona Airport. It's fun to ride a wide body, in my opinion.
After boarding through the second set of doors, we entered the rear business class cabin. The old Boeing 787-9 layout has 48 business class seats spread across eight rows. The rear cabin has three rows, while the forward cabin has five.
The old business class seats are Collins Aerospace Diamond. The footwell for each seat is to the side of the seat in front, making them the most efficient fully flat seats you can find.
These seats are quite nice for a roughly eight hour flight when you're traveling with someone, while I wouldn't be very happy with these seats if I traveled solo from San Francisco to Singapore.
The aisle and window seat on the left side of the last row was assigned to us.
The economy class cabin looked pretty standard.
There were three lavatories in business class, one at the front of the aircraft, and two in the galley between the two cabins. The largest lavatory was on the left side between cabins.
Initially business class had only 28 passengers, but there were roughly 15 passengers that cleared into business class. There were some empty seats in business class.
The flight had better amenities than you would typically find in domestic first class, but not the standard long haul Polaris amenities. There was a nice blanket. The Polaris duvet was not offered on this flight.
Business class passengers were given a small pouch with amenities, including eyeshades, earplugs, and a dental kit.
Each passenger was given a drink before departure. When you combine the two, it's not bad. I wouldn't typically drink airplane orange juice or United's prosecco, but when you combine the two, it's not bad.
What was the service like on this flight? Dinner was served quickly after takeoff. Chicken strips with rice or pasta with red sauce and vegetables were the choices we were asked to choose before departure.
I ordered the vegetarian option based on the chicken I had on my last flight from Hawaii, and encouraged Ford to do the same. We ordered an old fashioned to drink from. Pre-made cocktails are pretty awesome for what they are.
There was a single tray for everything. The main course included warm mixed nuts in a ramekin, a wrapped pretzel roll, and an entree of rice and chicken.
Was the meal delicious? No. It was better than the meal on my last flight. The vegetarian main was bland, but the sauce made it more interesting.
The flight attendant who was taking care of us brought us some water and a refill of our cocktails.
The meal service was done quickly, as the tray was cleared only an hour after takeoff. We were treated to a beautiful sunset during the meal.
There are a lot of movies and TV shows on the Boeing 787-9. I only watched the map.
I didn't use the wi-fi on the 787-9 because it was an overnight flight.
When I flew United from Maui to Chicago last year, there was no breakfast service. Eggs or a fruit and cheese plate were available for breakfast about an hour before landing. We ordered both of them.
The egg dish had a side of fruit and a croissant.
The cheese plate had pineapple, strawberries, grapes, cheese, almonds, cashews, and a hardboiled egg. It was accompanied by a cold oatmeal mango side.
Excellent service was what stood out to me most about this flight. Some of the best and worst flight attendants in the industry work for United. The flight attendant did a great job.
She was friendly and efficient and seemed to enjoy her job. She's one of the best United flight attendants I've had in a long time.
We had a great United flight from Kona to Chicago. For one, United currently offers the only flat beds from Kona, and for that matter operates the only flight from Kona that is further east than Phoenix.
Even though we had a last minute aircraft swap that caused us to get United's old business class seats, everything else about this flight was better than my last United flight from Hawaii. The flight attendant taking care of us was friendly, there was a dinner and breakfast service, and the food quality was better.
This was an efficient and comfortable way to return to the mainland.
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